Immersion plating and plated structures

ABSTRACT

A first metal is plated onto a substrate comprising a second metal by immersing the substrate into a bath comprising a compound of the first metal and an organic diluent. The second metal is more electropositive than the first metal. The organic diluent has a boiling point higher than a eutectic point in a phase diagram of the first and second metals. The bath is operated above the eutectic point but below the melting point of the second metal. For example, bismuth is immersion plated onto lead-free tin-based solder balls, and subsequently redistributed by fluxless reflow. Plated structures are also provided.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to immersion plating to initially create aliquid alloy, which in turn solidifies to form a tenacious deposit on asubstrate. As a particular example, the present invention relates toplating bismuth onto a substrate and especially to provide a tenaciousdeposit of the bismuth on the substrate. The present invention is ofspecial importance in providing tin-bismuth solders that are useful inelectronic packaging.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In electronic packaging, a chip carrier is typically coupled to acircuit card by a solder interconnect structure that includes a gridarray such as a ball grid array (BGA) or a column grid array (CGA). Thesolder interconnect structure traditionally contained lead. However, aneed exists in the elections industry and elsewhere to eliminate the useof lead due to imminent environmental requirements in many countries.The result is a need to develop lead-free solders that can perform aswell as the old lead-tin ones. The new alloys making their way intodevelopment and manufacturing are all tin-based, and in many casesalloyed with small amounts of copper, silver and/or bismuth.

One essential difference between the lead-free alloys and the lead-tinones is that lead-free, tin-based alloys are susceptible to theformation of the so-called “tin pest”. This is a phenomenon of verysluggish phase transformation, in which the room temperature beta-tinphase is converted, below 13° C., into alpha-tin. The transformation isaccompanied by massive expansion and cracking, and eventually bycrumbling. The transformation is extremely slow near 13° C., but itattains a maximum rate around −30° C. to −40° C., where it can becompleted within days or weeks. Since it is controlled by nucleation,the process rate is quite unpredictable; however, it certainlyconstitutes a great risk to any electronic devise that may, over theirlifetime, be stored or operated in cold environments. Some alloyingmetals, such as Bi, Pb and Sb (not Cu and Ag, however), are veryeffective at suppressing the beta-to-alpha transformation.

Plating is a major manufacturing method of producing C4-type solderballs. While alloy plating of lead-tin alloys is well developed,commercial use of lead-free alloys plating is still in its infancy. Tinalloy baths have exhibited substantial control and aging problems thatbecame exacerbated as additional alloying components such as bismuth areadded.

Adding bismuth in a separate step through a bismuth plating method hastended to lead to bismuth deposits that are powdery and very poorlyadherent to tin alloys. Accordingly, bismuth deposit can be rinsed orblown away when the structure is removed from the plating bath duringroutine rinsing and drying operations.

Also, adding bismuth to the solder alloy in a separate plating step isan appealing way to overcome the difficulties of alloy plating. Inparticular, immersion plating is in principle a desirable processbecause it is faster, often easier to control, and less expensiveprocess compared to electrodeposition, since many wafers can beprocessed in one batch and tooling is comparatively simple. However,immersion plating is self-limiting, which is a disadvantage when arelatively thick deposit is needed for the purpose of incorporation intoa reflowed connector of specified composition. For example, see Djokic,Electroless Deposition of Metals, Chapter 2, pp 54-55. Modern Aspects ofElectrochemistry, No. 35, Kluwer Academics, 2002, which discussesproblems with prior immersion or displacement deposition. In particular,such states that the “displacement reaction stops immediately after thereduced metal (more positive metal) covers the surface of the immersedmetal (more negative metal). Accordingly, the thickness of the depositedmetal is always limited. The time of immersion is particularly criticalfor achieving a uniform coating layer. Very often, the adhesion of thedeposited films is not as good as that of films prepared byelectrodeposition or by autocatalytic deposition.”

Furthermore, immersion plating often leads to dendritic growth and toporous deposits with mediocre adhesion. This specifically is the casewith immersion plating of bismuth on tin out of aqueous acidifiedbismuth salt solutions. The resulting deposits are easily rubbed off andcan even be partly detached by vigorous rinsing. More importantly, sincebismuth is prone to hydrolysis in water, the large area of the porousdeposit contains a substantial amount of hydroxide, which interfereswith solder reflow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses problems discussed above, and inparticular makes possible attaining good or tenacious adhesion of ametal to a substrate such as bismuth to a tin surface.

In particular, the present invention relates to a process for plating afirst metal onto a substrate which comprises a second metal. The secondmetal is more electropositive than the first metal. The processcomprises immersing the substrate to be coated into a bath comprising acompound of the first metal and an organic diluent having a boilingpoint higher than the eutectic point in the phase diagram of the firstand second metals. The phase diagram of the two metals contains at leastone eutectic point that is substantially lower and preferably at leastabout 5° C. lower than the melting point of the second metal. The bathis at a temperature during the plating that is above said eutecticpoint, but below the melting point of the second metal.

In addition, the present invention relates to a process for platingbismuth onto a substrate which comprises immersing the substrate to becoated into a bath comprising a bismuth compound and an organic diluenthaving a boiling point greater than 150° C. and wherein the bathcontains an acid in a molar excess of the molar concentration of Bi (3⁺)in the bath. In addition, the bath is at a temperature that is abovesaid eutectic temperature of an alloy(s) to be formed from a reaction ofbismuth with the substrate.

Further aspects of the present invention are directed to alloys obtainedby the above disclosed processes.

A still further aspect of the present invention is concerned with atin-containing solder having a deposit of bismuth containing alloytenaciously adhered to a top surface and being alloyed with thetin-containing solder.

The present invention also relates to a composition comprising a bismuthcompound, an organic diluent having a boiling point above 150° C, and anacid in a molar excess of the molar concentration of Bi (3⁺) in thebath.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to an electronic packagestructure which comprises the tin-containing solder disclosed above.

The present invention is also concerned with a process for fabricatingan electronic package which comprises forming an alloy of tin-bismuthcontaining solder by the process disclosed above.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomereadily apparent by those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, wherein it is shown and described preferred embodiments ofthe invention, simply by way of illustration of the best modecontemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized theinvention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its severaldetails are capable of modifications in various obvious respects,without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the description is tobe regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

DESCRIPTION OF BEST AND VARIOUS MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE PRESENTINVENTION

In order to facilitate a further understanding of the present invention,a detailed discussion of immersing plating of bismuth as a preferredexample is provided. However, it should be understood that the presentinvention is applicable to immersion plating of other metals. Inparticular, a number of other metal couples exist that possess lowtemperature eutectic points that lend themselves to similar processing.In any event, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention,bismuth is immersion plated onto a substrate and preferably onto a tinor tin-alloy solder.

The immersion plating—also referred to as exchange plating—of Bi on Snand Sn alloys is thermodynamically favored, Bi being much more noblethan Sn; it proceeds spontaneously when the tin alloy comes into contactwith a Bi(3+)-containing solution. The exchange reaction is as follows:2 Bi(3+)+3Sn→2 Bi+3Sn(2+)

The immersion plating according to the present invention is carried outemploying a bath comprising a bismuth compound and an organic diluenthaving a boiling point greater than 150° C. and an acid. The acid istypically present in a molar excess of the molar concentration of Bi(3⁺) in the bath. Preferably the plating is carried out above theeutectic temperature of the binary Sn—Bi system or Sn alloy-Bi system.The binary Sn—Bi eutectic is at 139° C. (and slightly lower when Cuand/or Ag are present). When Cu, Ag or other metals are initially arepresent in the solder, they are typically employed in amounts of atleast about 0.5% and more typically about 0.8 to about 4%. Instead ofpoorly adherent dendritic crystallites as achieved in prior art, whichare susceptible to being blown away when the sample is removed from theplating solution during routine rinsing and drying, droplets of liquidSn—Bi eutetic are generated on the Sn alloy surface. These droplets havegood adhesion to the surface and actually penetrate into the bulk tinalloy along grain boundaries. The Sn—Bi eutectic solidifies and stays inplace when the sample is cooled down and rinsed. Reflowing the alloy,even in the absence of flux, results in a uniform composition across thesolder ball. This is in stark contrast to Bi immersion-deposited atsub-eutectic temperature, which cannot be reflowed even with the aid ofaverage fluxes.

The plating bath is typically at a temperature above the eutectictemperature of the alloy(s) to be generated by the plating reaction. Thepreferred operating temperature is 140 to about 150° C., which makes itdifficult, if not impractical, to use an aqueous system. According tothe present invention an organic diluent having a boiling point greaterthan 150° C. is employed. The organic diluent also preferably has thefollowing characteristics: good solvent for bismuth and tin salts andfor any complexant added to assist in their dissolution; compatibilitywith acid (since some acid is typically employed for keeping Bi and Snsalts in solution); boiling point in excess of 150° C. (e.g. relativelylow vapor pressure at operating temperatures); flash point in excess of150° C.; reasonable stability at 150° C.; and environmentally benign.However, diluents with lower flash points can be used by carrying outthe process in the presence of an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen.

The preferred diluents are polyols such as glycols such as ethyleneglycol and propylene glycol and glycerol with glycerol being the mostpreferred. Other suitable diluents include sulfolane, dimethyl sulfone,dimethyl sulfoxide and tetraglyme. Mixtures of diluents can be employedwhen desired.

Another class of suitable diluents are compounds known as ionic liquids.Examples include alkylpyridimium salts and dialkylimidazolium salts offluorinated anions, e.g., 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborateor 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate. Thesecompounds have the advantage of negligible vapor pressure, chemicalinertness, and thermal stability superior to that of most organicsolvents. Accordingly, they can be used at temperatures of 200-250° C.,especially for short periods of time.

Glycerol is a polar solvent with good dissolution capability for manysalts; it boils at 290° C., has a vapor pressure of 1-2 torr in the140-150° C. range, and a flash point of 160° C. Acidified glycerolsolutions containing Bi salts can be kept at 140-150° C. for at least 4days without substantial decomposition. Glycerol is classified by the USgovernment as GRAS (“generally regarded as safe”), and is readilybiodegradable. Glycerol in the presence of chloride or bromide ions is agood solvent for bismuth salts such as the nitrate or the2-ethylhexanoate. This is significant because bismuth salts tend to havelow to nil solubilities in most solvents.

The bismuth compound employed is typically a salt such as the nitrate,2-ethylhexanoate, tetrafluoroborate and salts of sulfonic acids such asmethanesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate.

The amount of bismuth compound is typically about 0.001M to about 0.02M, and more typically about 0.003 to about 0.012 M.

The bath also includes an acid to help maintain the Bi(3⁺) in thesolution. and typically in a molar excess of the molar concentration ofBi (3⁺), more typically at least about 0.001M and even more typicallyabout 0.005 to about 0.02 M. Typical acids include methanesulfonic acid,hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrobromic acid.

The bath also preferably includes a complexant for the bismuth. Typicalcomplexants are chloride and bromide salts such as potassium, ammoniumand sodium. The complexant, when employed, is typically about 0.01 toabout 0.5 M, and more typically about 0.02 to about 0.2 M.

The presence of a transient liquid phase also makes practical thecodeposition with bismuth of additional elements, such as copper, thatnormally would generate poorly adherent deposits on tin. For example, aglycerol-soluble salt of the additional element, which has to be moreelectronegative than tin, can be added to the bismuth-platingcomposition for this purpose. The additional element is reduced by thetin and forms grains—of the pure element or of an intermetallicphase—that on cooling remain anchored to the surface by the freezingtin-bismuth eutectic. An inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen can beused to prevent air oxidation of the additional element, especially ifthe latter is copper.

The bath can include other alloying metals such as copper and silvertypically in the form of a salt such as nitrate or 2-ethylhexanoaate.The amount of such co-alloying material, when present, is typically in amolar ratio to Bi of about 1:10 to about 10:1, and more typically about1:1 to about 6:1.

The alloys formed typically contain about 0.15 to about 0.2% bismuth.When present, the silver and copper are typically present in amounts inthe alloy of at least about 0.5% and more typically about 0.8 to about4%. When a Sn—Bi solder is desired as the final product, the alloysformed typically contain about 3% Bi.

The object or structure to be plated is preferably, but not necessarily,treated with an etchant composition to remove, for instance surfacecontaminants, if any, such as oxides. A typical etchant ismethanesulfonic acid.

The Sn—Bi liquid allow is initially deposited as droplets that wet thesolid tin-based surface well, provided that the oxide-removal step waseffective. As a result, a macroscopically smooth surface is generated,with reflectivity similar to that of the original alloy. The surfacecoverage is incomplete for the short exposures (and/or low Bi(3+)concentrations) used to obtain low Bi contents of 0.15-0.6%. Thus,achieving reliable protection at these low Bi contents necessitates thereflow of the tin-based connector, which uniformly redistributes thebismuth throughout the volume—and the surface—of the connector. However,with longer exposure (and/or higher Bi(3+) concentration) essentiallycomplete coverage of the surface can be achieved. Thus the methodoutlined above can be applied beyond solder balls and other tin-basedconnectors, to serve more generally for the protection and preservationof tin-based items or devices that are exposed to cold temperatures.Since the nucleation of the low temperature phase is a surface-dependentprocess, coverage of the surface with a thin layer of Sn—Bi alloyeffectively prevents the transformation without requiring the reflow (orremelting) of the item, which would be undesirable for, e.g. ornamentalor museum artifacts.

In addition, after the structure is removed from the plating bath, itcan be rinsed with a suitable fluid to remove any residual platingcomposition. Also, the structure can be dried and, if desired, reflowedto assure that the elements are redistributed uniformly throughout thevolume of the structure, e.g. the connector.

A typical electronic structure employing the solder of the presentinvention includes a first electronic component having a conductive pad,a second electronic component having a conductive pad, and the solderinterconnect structure which solderably couples the first electroniccomponent to the second electronic component. The first electroniccomponent may include, inter alia, a first circuitized substrate such aschip carrier. The second electronic component may include, inter alia, asecond circuitized substrate such as a circuit card.

The following non-limiting examples are presented to further illustratethe present invention.

EXAMPLE 1

A sample containing plated Sn˜0.5% Cu solder balls was dipped for 1minute in stirred 66% methanesulfonic acid to remove passivating oxidelayer. It was then rinsed briefly with water followed by ethanol, andblow-dried. It was then dipped for 30 seconds into stirred aliquot ofsolution containing 6.16 g (0.012 M) bismuth 2-ethylhexanoate; 20 gpotassium bromide (Bi complexant); 2 ml methanesulfonic acid (99%); and1000 g glycerol and kept at a temperature of about 142±3° C.

The structure was then rinsed with water, ethanol, and blow-dried. C4balls kept their bright appearance. Analysis showed a content of about0.6% Bi after plating. Cross-sectioning before and after reflow showedthat the Bi concentrated initially at and near the ball surface butredistributed itself uniformly throughout the solder ball after afluxless reflow. The fluxless feature is important, because it increasesmanufacturing flexibility, it proves that the Bi alloy generated is lowin oxide.

When the same conditions were employed but at a slightly lowertemperature of 125-130° C., the resulting Bi deposit was dark, powderyand poorly adherent, demonstrating the importance of operating above theeutectic temperature.

Moreover, to get lower Bi concentrations one merely uses lower Bi(3+)concentrations and/or a shorter dip, e.g. a 30 second dip in a 0.003 Mbismuth 2-ethylhexanoate for a content of about 0.15% Bi.

The Bi plating of the present invention lends itself readily togenerating Sn-based connectors with much higher content of Bi than thesmall amounts needed for protection against low temperaturetransformation. The amount of bismuth deposited is approximatelyproportional to the deposition time and to the Bi(3+) concentration.Thus, under the same conditions described above in Example 1, an averagecontent of 3% Bi after reflow was obtained when the deposition time wasextended to 3 minutes. This is a typical concentration for a SnBilead-free alloy. Of course, higher Bi contents are obtainable at longerdip times and/or higher Bi(3+) concentrations. This option can be usefulfor generating connectors with melting points substantially below thatof tin. It can also be used for connectors or plugs that can be easilyreshaped by mild pressure while hot, since at higher Bi content theBi-rich low melting phase tends to infiltrate the intergranular spacebetween the tin-rich grains, thus facilitating slippage of the tin-richgrains against each other.

The immersion plating of a liquid Sn—Bi eutectic as described above andas stated is merely exemplary of the patent invention. There are othermetal couples possessing low temperature eutectic points that lendthemselves to a similar treatment. In all these cases, a surface of aless noble second metal is treated with a hot solution of a compound ofa more noble first metal, at a temperature high enough to ensure thatthe deposited metal will spontaneously generate a liquid alloy but lowenough that the bulk second metal will not melt. The same considerationsdescribed above for the choice of diluent apply, modified for theparticular range of temperature. For instance, a precleaned zinc surfacecan be coated with a Sn—Zn eutectic (m.p. 198.5° C.) by using solutionof an Sn(2+) salt in an ionic liquid, or in a high-boiling coordinatingorganic diluent (e.g., tetraglyme) under nitrogen, at 200° C. or higher.In this example, Sn is the first metal and zinc is the second metal ofthe general case. The Sn—Zn alloy coating is useful in that it makes theZn surface less susceptible to corrosion and more solderable. Additionalmetal alloys that can be generated similarly at temperatures below 200°C. are, e.g., Bi—Cd, Bi—In, In—Zn, Sn—Cd, and In—Cd; a person skilled inthe art, once aware of this disclosure, can readily find additionalexamples, especially when higher deposition temperatures are included.

The foregoing description of the invention illustrates and describes thepresent invention. Additionally, the disclosure shows and describes onlythe preferred embodiments of the invention but, as mentioned above, itis to be understood that the invention is capable of use in variousother combinations, modifications, and environments and is capable ofchanges or modifications within the scope of the inventive concepts asexpressed herein, commensurate with the above teachings and/or the skillor knowledge of the relevant art. The embodiments described hereinaboveare further intended to explain best modes known of practicing theinvention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize theinvention in such, or other, embodiments and with various modificationsrequired by the particular applications or uses of the invention.Accordingly, the description is not intended to limit the invention tothe form disclosed herein. Also, it is intended that the appended claimsbe construed to include alternative embodiments.

1. A product obtained by a process for plating a first metal onto asubstrate which comprises a second and different metal that is moreelectropositive than the first metal, which comprises immersing saidsubstrate into a bath comprising a compound of said first metal and anorganic diluent having a boiling point higher than an eutectic point ina phase diagram of the first and second metals; and wherein the bath isat a temperature above said eutectic point but below the melting pointof said second metal.
 2. The product of claim 1, wherein the diluent isselected from the group consisting of polyols, sulfonate, dimethylsulfoxide and tetraglyme and mixtures thereof.
 3. The product of claim1, wherein the diluent is an ionic liquid.
 4. The product of claim 3,wherein said ionic liquid comprises an alkylpyridinium salt ordialkylimidazolium salt.
 5. The product of claim 1, wherein said firstmetal is selected from the group consisting of tin, bismuth, indium, andsaid second and different metal is selected from the group consisting ofzinc, cadmium, and indium.
 6. The product of claim 1, wherein said firstmetal comprises tin and said second metal comprises zinc.
 7. The productof claim 6, wherein the diluent comprises an ionic liquid or tetraglymeand the immersing is carried out under nitrogen.
 8. A product obtainedby a process for plating bismuth onto a substrate which comprisesimmersing the substrate to be coated into a bath comprising a bismuthcompound, an organic diluent having a boiling point greater than 150° C.and an acid, and wherein the bath is above the eutectic temperature ofan alloy to be formed from reaction of the bismuth with the substrate.9. The product of claim 8, wherein the diluent has a flash point above150° C.
 10. The product of claim 8, wherein the diluent is selected fromthe group consisting of polyols, sulfolane, dimethyl sulfone, dimethylsulfoxide and tetraglyme and mixtures thereof.
 11. The product of claim8, wherein the diluent is an ionic liquid.
 12. The product of claim 8,wherein said ionic liquid comprises an alkylpyridinium salt ordialkylimidazolium salt.
 13. The product of claim 8, wherein the diluentcomprises a glycol or a polyol.
 14. The product of claim 8, wherein thediluent comprises glycerol.
 15. The product of claim 8, wherein the bathis at a temperature of at least 140° C. during the immersion.
 16. Theproduct of claim 8, wherein the bath is at a temperature of 140° C. toabout 150° C. during the immersion.
 17. The product of claim 8, whereinthe bath contains a molar concentration of acid in excess of the molarconcentration of Bi (3+).
 18. The product of claim 8, wherein thebismuth compound comprises a bismuth salt of at least one memberselected from the group consisting of nitric, 2-ethylhexanoic,tetrafluoroboric and sulfonic acids.
 19. The product of claim 8, whereinthe bath further comprises a bismuth complexant.
 20. The product ofclaim 19, wherein the complexant comprises a chloride or bromide. 21.The product of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a tin containingsolder.
 22. The product of claim 21, which further comprises reflowingto form an alloy of the tin containing solder and bismuth.
 23. Theproduct of claim 22, wherein said alloy comprises about 0.1 to about 3%by weight of bismuth after said reflowing.
 24. The product of claim 22,wherein said alloy comprises about 0.1 to about 0.2% by weight ofbismuth after said reflowing.
 25. The product of claim 8, wherein saidbath comprises bismuth 2-ethylexanoate, potassium bromide,methanesulfonic acid and glycerol.
 26. A tin-containing solder having adeposit of bismuth tenaciously adhered to a top surface and beingalloyed with said tin-containing solder.
 27. The tin-containing solderof claim 26, wherein the amount of bismuth alloyed is about 0.1 to about3% by weight.
 28. The tin-containing solder of claim 26, wherein theamount of bismuth alloyed is about 0.1 to about 0.2% by weight.
 29. Thetin-containing solder of claim 26, wherein said solder contains a thirdmetal.
 30. The tin-containing solder of claim 29, wherein said thirdmetal comprises copper, silver or both.
 31. An electronic packagestructure which comprises the tin-containing solder according to claim26.